Method and apparatus for making, storing or dispensing ice cubes



, JUIY 27, 1965 D. s. REYNOLDS 3,196,624

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING, STORING OR DISPENSING ICE CUBES FiledJune 29. 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet l 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENToR. REYNOLDSDQNALD S.

BY @nl July 27, 1965 D. s. REYNOLDS METHOD AND lAPPARATUS FOR MAKING,STORING 0R DIsPENsING ICE CUBES Filed June 29. 1961 July 27,1965 D. s,REYNOLDS 3,196,624

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING, STORING OR DISPENSING ICE CUBES FiledJune 29. i961 4 sheets-sheet s f5/ 6 l ,7 /a

INVENTOR. DONALD S. REYNOLDS Qw@ @www July 27, 1965 A D, s, REYNQLDSl3,196,624 l METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING, STORING OR DISPEONSING ICECUBES Filed June 29. 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 s f1 2, 72W g. L3

9 l? i; f

23a\ .I HEAT 2// :I EXCHANGER 2/2 i j# 52 EvAPoRAToR CONDENSER con.

@L11/: 3G-A f :E5: 1- ExPANs\oN .36 VALVE SO LENOI D `3/0 INVENTOR.

DONALD S. REYNoLDs BY 2(94 I 9o/6I v United States Patent() 3,196,624WTHGD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING, STRING R DISPENSING ICE CUBES Donaid S.Reynolds, Wilmette, lil., assigner, by mesne assignments, to ReynoldsProducts, Inc., Arlington Heights, lil., a corporation of Illinois Filed.lune Z9, 1961, Ser. No. 12,574 20 Claims. (Cl. 6271) This inventionrelates to ice making machines and particularly to automatic ice cubemaking machines and parts therefor and the method of operation thereof.

Although the ice making machine of the present invention has generalutility, it is particularly useful when used in combination with and asa part of a soft drink dispensing machine of the type wherein cups,flavor concentrates or Syrups and sources of water and carbonation aremaintained within the dispensing machine and upon insert-ion of a coinin the control circuit therefor, a cup is placed in position to receivethe flavor concentrate and water, including carbonated water if desired,therein. In such soft drink dispensing machines it is also desirable t-oplace a small quantity of ice in the drink since the public generallydesires to have ice in its soft drink, despite the fact that thecomponents of the soft drink are maintained at temperatures near thefreezing point. Prior ice making machines and the ice products therefromhave been unsatisfactory When incorporated in soft drink dispensingmachines for the principal reason that the form of ice produced is notwell suited for incorporation in automatically dispensed soft drinks.More specifically, the quantity of water and flavored syrup andcarbonation are carefully calculated and dispensed and the proportionstherebetween maintained constant by the automatic dispensing mechanism.The ice machines available heretofore have generally produced aked icewhich has a substantial surface area in proportion to the volume thereofand which is wet, i.e., contains substantial amounts of entrained andnon-frozen water, and in which the quality and consistency thereof arenot constant from one dispensing operation to the next. The prior flakedice therefore tends to dilute the soft drink and thus destroy thecarefully calculatediproportions among the ingredients thereof; thesharp edges and large surface areas on the flaked ice have tended tocause a loss of the carbon dioxide gas from the dispensed drink toproduce a dat product; and the ice because of its large surface area inrelation to its volume has been quickly melted and dissipated so thatthere wasno ice present in the cup during the consumption of the lastportion of the drink.

rihe type of ice desirable in an automatic soft drink dispensing machineis the type prepared in refrigerators and other large refrigeratingmachines wherein water is frozen to a solid condition in the form of acube whereby the surface area of the ice cube is small relative to thevolume thereof, there is substantially no entrained ice therein and theice is hard, compact and dense. It is to be understood that when theterm cube is used throughout this specification that a unitary mass orblock of ice is meant. The term is not to be construed in its geometricsense and is merely used as a convenient nomenclature to distinguish thecompacted unitary ice mass produced by the instant invention from theiiaked ice or small pieces of ice of the prior art. Such an ice cube isideal for use in an automatic soft drink dispensing machine since thehard dry character thereof does not dilute the drink and thus does notdestroy the carefully maintained and dispensed proportions, among theingredients of the drink, the small surface area thereof relative to thevolume and the lack of a large number of sharp edges minimizing the lossof carbonation from the soft 3,196,624 Patented Jul-y 27,1965

drink and the ice cube lasting throughout the normal consumption time ofthe drink due to its hard compact character. rhe ice cubes to be used ina soft drink dispensing machine must however be small and substantiallysmaller than those produced heretofore and, furthermore, it is desirablethat the ice cubes be produced substantially continuously during theoperation of the automatic soft drink dispensing machine and furtherthat the ice making apparatus be contained within the physical confinesof the cabinet of the soft drink dispensing machine without changing theexternal configuration thereof. Prior ice making machines which will fitwithin the contines of the cabinet of the soft drink dispensing machinehave not produced the ice cubes desired and those that produced icecubes of the character desired have not been sufficiently small to fitwithin the cabinet of the soft drink dispensing machine or have not beensubstantially continuous in their operation.

Another serious limitation placed upon ice making machines to be used inconjunction with soft drink dispensing machines results from the-factthat there is no substantial space for the storage'of ice within thecabinet of the soft drink dispensing machine and therefore the icemaking machine must produ-ce ice of the desired character at least asfast as soft drinks can be dispensed from the dispensing machine andfurther the ice making machine must be sufficiently small as is pointedout above to fit within the cabinet of the soft drink dispensing machinebut still produce the large amount of refrigeration necessary tomanufacture ice cubes at the rate required.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention toprovide an improved ice making machine and particularly an improvedmachine that can make hard, dense and compact ice cubes.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved ice cubemaking machine which can produce ice cubes of the desired quantity andpossessing the desired characteristics substantially continuously and ata high rate.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an ice cube makingmachine of the type set forth which is small and compact relative to itshigh ice producing capacity, and specifically to provide an improved icecube making machine that can t within the cabinet of soft drinkdispensing machines now in common use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved ice cubemaking machine of the type set forth which utilizes a cold wall andauger arrangement to produce aked ice and thereafter converts the flakedice into compact rods of ice which can be broken into compact ice cubesof the desired size and quality.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide in an ice cube makingmachine of the type set forth an improved apparatus for receiving andstoring the ice cubes as they are made and automatic apparatus forstopping operation of the ice making machine when the storage chamberhas been filled to a predetermined level.

In connection with the foregoing object, it is another object of theinvention to provide an improved structure for dispensing ice cubes fromthe storage chamber in an ice cube making machine of the type set forth.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved electricalcontrol systcm for the operation of the ice cube making machine of thepresent invention and for co-ordinating the operation thereof with anassociated soft drink dispensing machine.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedmethodof making ice cubes and an improved method of operating the ice cubemaking machine of the present invention.

Further features of the invention pertain to the particular arrangementof the parts of the ice cube making machine and to the particular methodof making ice cubes, whereby the above outlined and additional operatingfeatures are attained.

The invention, both as its organization and method of operation togetherwith further objects and advantages thereof will best be understood byreference to the following specification taken with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a soft drink dispensing machinehaving a portion of the front cover thereof broken away to disclose thevarious operating parts thereof including an ice cube making machinemade in accordance with and embodying the principles of the presentinvention therein; Y

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary View, partly in vertical section, of the icecube making machine of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view in horizontal section on an enlarged scalesubstantially as seen in the direction of the arrows along the line 3 3in FIG. 2 and illustrating the relationship between the upper end of theauger flight and the ice cutter, the extruding head between the augerand the ice cutter being shown in dashed lines for increased clarity ofillustration;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged View in horizontal section'through the ice cubemaking machine of FIG.v 2 substantially as seen in the direction of thearrows along the line 4 4 thereof;

l FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a typical ice cube made by the machineand in accordance with the method of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the ice cutter forming a part of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a side view showing three ice cutters in stacked and assembledrelationship. as used in the ice making machine of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the extruding head forming a part of the `icemaking machine of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the extruding head illustrated inFIG. 8; g

FIG. l0 is a perspective View as seen from below of the extruding headillustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is a view in horizontal section of `a portion of therefrigerating system illustrated in FIG. 2 substantially as seen in thedirection of the arrows along the line l-lll thereof;

FIG.12 is a view in horizontal section through the heat exchanger :inFIG. 2 substantially as seen in the direction of the arrows along theline 12-12 thereof;

FIG'. 13 is a diagrammatic view of the refrigeration system of the icecube making machine of the present' invention; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic electrical diagram of the control circuit of theice cube making machine of the present invention and the interconnectionthereof with the control ycircuit of an associated soft drink dispensingmachine.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a front elevationalview of a soft drink dispensing machine generally designated by thenumeral Ztl, the front door 22 of the casing of the machine 2t? havingbeen broken away to reveal certain of the operatingcomponents thereof.More specifically, there is provided within the machine Ztl means forstoring cups generally designated by the numeral 2.4 and havingassociated therewith a cup dispensing mechanism 26 by which cups can beremoved one at a time from the storage area 24 and dropped through achute 23 to a platform 39, a typical cup 31 landing on the platform 30in an upright and centered position as is illustrated diagrammaticallyin FIG. 2 of the drawings. There also is disposed Within the cabinet ofthe machine 2b a plurality of avored syrup storage compartments 32 withindividual plastic dispensing hoses 34 provided for conveying Isyrupfrom the storage compartments 32 into the cup 3l. on the platform 3i). Aconnection is made to a water supply and water is conveyed from thesupply to a filter 36 from which the water can be fed directly through aconduit e?) to a cup positioned upon the platform 30 in those instanceswhere no carbonation is desired. In the event carbonation is desired,the Water from the filter 36 is conveyed to carbonating equipment (notshown) and thence through a stainless steel pipe 40 to the cup 3lpositioned upon the platform 30. Suitable refrigeration equipment (notshown) is also provided to refrigerate the syrup and the water,including the carbonated water, prior to injection thereof into the cup31 on the platform 3? so that the dispensed drink ywithin the cup 3l isat a palatable temperature. Furthermore, the mechanism for dispensingthe water or the carbonated water and the syrup is carefully designedand operated to dispense predetermined quantities of all items so thatthe resultant drink has a predetermined desired proportion of thevarious ingredients therein and` in the case of a carbonated drink thereis a predetermined amount and form of carbonation. In a typicaldispensing machine 20, a cup 3l is iirst placed on the platform 30 afterwhichthe flow of carbonated water is begun and continues to the end ofthe dispensing cycle, the flow of `syrup through one of the conduits 34beginning after the flow of the carbonated water has begun and stoppingbefore the flow of the car bonated water to insure proper mixing of thesyrup in the yfinal drink.

In accordance with the present invention, there is disposed within thehousing of the soft drink dispensing machine Z0 an ice cube makingmachine generally designated by the numeral 5t)l including generally arefrigerated cylinder 52 (see FIG. 2 also) having disposed the-rein anauger 54 driven by a motor 56 through a gear reducer 5S and driving icethrough an extruding head 69 past ice cutters 62 and into an ice storagecompartment generally designated by the numeral 64. Referringsepcilically to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings, it will be seen thatthe cylinder 52 is arranged generally vertically and has the lower endthereof connected by means ofa bolt de'to a rigid part 68 to hold thecylinder 52 from rotation with respect to the soft drink dispensingmachine 2t). Wrapped about the outer surface of the cylinder 52 andmaking good thermal contact therewith throughout ysubstantially theentire length thereof is a refrigerator coil '70 which is connected in arefrigeration system that Y will be'described more fully hereinafter.Disposed about the refrigerator coil 70 and about the major portion ofthe cylinder 52 is a quantity of heat insulating material '72 that isheld in operative position by means of a housing or casing 74.

The auger 54 has a cylindrical body 76 about which is disposed a helicalblade 78, the Ilowerl end of the auger 54 being supported by a bearingSi@ and connected to the output of the gear reducer 58 whereby the auger5d is rotated by operation of the drive motor 56. The upper end of theauger S4 is provided with a reduced shaft portion 82 which is receivedwithin a pilot bearing S4 that is in turn held and press fitted into acylindrical opening in the center of the extruding head 60. Theextruding head ed in turn is xedly mounted with respect to the cylinder52 by means of a bolt 86.

The cylinder 52 during'operation of the ice making machine 5t) issupplied with water from a level maintaining mechanism 96 (see FIG. l)which includes a receptacle 92 having therein .a float operated valvehaving the inlet thereto connected to the water lter 36. Water forforming the ice is fed under a constant head from the water mechanism@il through a conduit 94 to a connection 96 communicating withV interiorof the cylinder 5?.

.adjacent to the lower end thereof. A watertight condi tion for thelower end of the vcyl-inder 52 is maintained by a watertight seal 98extending therearound.

As the water from the inlet pipe 96 rises in-the refrigerated cylinder52, heat is extracted therefrom by meansA of the refrigerating coil 70and a layer of ice is formed on the inner wall of the cylinder 52 thatis scraped therefrom by the auger blade 73 and is thrust upwardly in acontinuous manner along the cylinder 52 and into-a collecting chamberdesignated by the numeral 16) and disposed between the upper end of theauger blade '78 and the lower surface of the ice extruding head 611. Thespecific construction of the extruding head 60 `can best be seen inFIGS. 4 and 8 to 10 of the drawings wherein it will be seen that itcomprises generally a hollow cylinder 192 within which is press fittedthe pilot bearing 84 receiving the auger shaft 82 as has been describedabove. Extending radially outwardly from the cylinder or hub 102 are twosets of arms including a narrower set 104 and a wider set 106. The arms164 are positioned between adjacent ones of the arms 1126 and spacedequidistantly therefrom, there being three arms 164 equiangularlydisposed apart 120 and three arms 106 also equiangularly disposed apart120. The outer surfaces of the arms 166 are curved and in fact the outersurfaces thereof are sections of the walls of a cylinder, the extrudinghead 61B in practice being formed from a cylindrical piece of metal inwhich are formed tintes 110 or ice passages between adjacent arms 1114and 1116, the angular extent of the iiutes 116 being 36, the angularextent of the narrower arms 1114 being 12 and the angular extent of thebroader arms 166 being 36. The six utes 11) thus formed provide icereceiving compacting and extruding passages in combination with theinner wall of the cylinder 52 as may be best seen in FIG. 4 of thedrawings. The arms 164 have side walls 112and the arms 166 have the sidewalls 114 which actually lie along radii through the center of theextruding head 6@ and extend radially from the cylindrical hub 102outwardly to the end of the arms 1116, respectively, the junctionVbetween the hub 102 and the sides 112 and 114 being chamfered as at 113.

The upper surface of the extruding lhead 66 is formed substantially flatwith chamfers 119 formed onAthe outer ends of the arms 164 and 166 andon the periphery of the opening through the center of the extruding head611. The lower end of the extruding head 60 is best illustrated in FGS.9 and 10 of the drawings wherein it will be seen that the Verticalextent of the arms 104 and 106 is substantially less than the verticalextent of the hub 162, the arms 1114 having a vertical extent even lessthan that of the arms 1116. Furthermore, each of the arms 106 has alower surface 122 which is beveled inwardly and upwardly in order todirect flaked ice to the inner portions of the ice passages 11d as willbe described more fully hereinafter. The surfaces 122 on the arms 106are rounded as at 126, the outer end of each of the arms being formedsubstantially semicircular and the rounding diminishing toward andsubstantially terminating at the charnfer 118. Each of the thicker arms106 is also provided with a threaded opening 128 therein disposedsubstantiallvperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the extrudinghead 66 to receive therein the positioning bolts S6 described above, andit is for this reason that the three arms 1116 are formed with a greaterangular extent than the three arms 164.

1n a preferred construction, there are six of the ice passages 116 ashas been explained above and furthermore the total cross sectional areaof the ice passages 110 is substantially equal to 60% of the crosssectional area of the tlaked ice collecting chamber 100 that is disposedbetween the upper end of the auger blade 78 and the lower portion of thearms 1114 and 106 on the extruding head 66. It has been found inpractice that the cross sectional area represented by the combinedflutes or ice passages 116 may vary from about 45% to about 75% of thetransverse cross sectional area of the ice collecting chamber ft andstill obtain satisfactory operation of the ice cube making machine 5i?.The vertical extent of the ice passages 116, i.e., the distance from thesurface 122 to the top of the extruding head 66, is preferably at leastabout one and one-half times the major transverse dimension of thepassage 110, the major transverse dimension in the form of the inventionillustrated being from the juncture of the outer edge of a side wall 112with the cylinder 52 to the juncture of the outer edge of the adjacentside wall 114 with the cylinder 52. When the extruding head 60 itsshaped as illustrated and described and when it has the relations amongthe dimensions noted, a firm coherent and compact ice rod is formedtherein during operation of the ice cube making machine 5? as will bedescribed more fully hereinafter.

The reduced shaft portion 82 at the upper end of the .auger 84has afurther reduced portion 83 thereon which also is provided with a at 85thereon, see particularly FiG. 3. isposed upon the shaft portion 83 areice cutters 62, the construction thereof being best illustrated in FIGS.3, 6 and 7 of the drawings. More specifically, each of the ice cutters62 inclu-des a hub 130 from which extend outwardly three ice cutting orbreaking arms 132 that are equiangularly disposed about the hub 1311 andextending outwardly therefrom. The hub has a D- shaped opening 134therein including a fiat 136 thereon, the opening 134 being shaped andarranged to receive the auger shaft portion 33 as is best illustrated inFIG. 3 of the drawings. The outer end of each of the arms 132 is roundedas at 138 and in use the cutter 62 rotates in the direction of the arrowin FIG. 3 and the leading edge thereof is cut back away from a linethrough the center of the shaft portion 83 inwardly toward the center ofthe shaft portion 83, whereby the outer point 142 on each arm 132 is thefirst to contact a rod of ice and thereafter the leading edge 149progressively engages the rod of ice, the line of engagement movinginwardly toward the center of the ice cutter 62. The trailing edge 144of each of the arms 132 is formed substantially parallel to the leadingedge 140 and, accordingly, the .arms 132 point forwardly in thedirection of rotation of the cutter It further has been found that it isdesirable to maintain a particular relationship between the auger 54 andthe leading point 142 on the outer end of the arm 132 that overlies theupper end of the .auger blade 73. More specifically, the lineinterconnecting the point 142 and the center of the shaft portion 83lies along the center line of the outer surface of the auger blade 7Sthat is transverse to the axis of rotation thereof and, furthermore, thetrailing edge 146 of the auger blade 78 is cut away along a planeparallel to the axis of rotation of the auger 54 and parallel to theline interconnecting the point 142 and the axis of rotation of the auger54, the plane of the trailing edge 146 being disposed from the point 142a distance equal to one-fourth of the surface of the auger blade '78transverse to the axis of rotation of the auger 54. It has been foundthat this relationship permits ready feeding of ice upwardly through theice passages 116 in 4the extruding head 66 with a minimum ofinterference of such movement of the ice by the cutters 62.

In order to simplify the fabrication of the cutter 62, it is formed asthree separate identical parts from sheet metal such as by stamping andthere further are formed on each of the' arms 132 a projection 148 onone surface thereof and a corresponding depression in the other surfacethereof, whereby the three cutters 62 can be stacked as illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 7 of the drawings. The projections 14S in the correspondingrecesses of each of the arms 132 and the fiat 136 on the D-shapedopening 134 engagingthe hat 85 on the shaft portion 83 serve to hold thethree cutters 62 in proper alignment.

The outermost end of the shaft portion 63 is threaded as at 87 (see FIG.2) and threadedly receives thereon an upstanding hub 15@ having aninternally threaded opening to receive the threaded shaft portion 87.More specically, the hub 150 threads downwardly upon the threadedportion 87 and clamps the cutter 62 against the .y shoulder formed atthe junction of the shaft portions 82 and S3.' As the ice cubes arebroken into final shape by the cutter 62,'they pass upwardly and beyondthe upper edge of the cylinder 52Vand into the storage chamber 64 whichis generally cylindrical in shape and includes an outer cylindrical wall152 having the lower end thereof connected in a watertight manner to thecylinder 52 by means of a coupling member 151i and an O-ring seal 156.in the lower portion of the cylinder 152 is an opening closed by asolenoid operated door 158 hingedly mounted as at 1o@ and opening into achute 162 which directs ice from the storage chamber 64 into a cup 31 onthe platform 3d, the door 153 beingoperated electrically as will bedescribed more fully hereinafter.

As ice accumulates and begins to melt within the storage chamber 64,there may be a tendency for the ice cubes to coalesce, and in order tocounteract such a tendency,'a stirring mechanism has been provided whichincludes the hub 15d having a plurality of outstanding stirring arms164, 168, 170 and 172 thereon and extending outwardly therefrom, theouter end of these stirring arms being pointed. There also is anupwardly extending stirring arm 17d positioned on the hub 151) eccentricwith respect to the axis of rotation thereof. As the auger 54 isoperated, it drives the hub 156 and moves the various stirring arms 164through 174 to agitate the ice within the storage chamber 64 and thus toprevent coalescing thereof.

As the ice cube making machine operates, and if there is no demand forice therefrom, the storage chamber 64 proceeds to ll and eventually theentire storage cham-v ber would fill and would even overow. Means isprovided to stop operation of the ice cube making machine 5? when thestorage chamber 64 becomes lled .and to accomplish this the upper end of`the cylinder 152 receives la cover 176 having a dome 178 thereon.Disposed within the dome 173 is a microswitch 18d pivo-tally mounted ona bracket v1%12 about the pivot point 184 and having .a switch actuator186 arranged to be moved against an abutment 138 when the switch isrotate-d in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot point 184.Pivotally connected to the switch .180 as at 19th is `a dependingactuating rod 122 having a pair of spaced apart abutments 19d and 196thereon. A Weight 198 is provided having an opening therethrough toreceive the rod 192, the weight 198 being disposed between the abutments1911 and 1916 on the rod 192. Mounted on the upper end of the weight 198is `a circular plate 2110 having a diameter slightly less than thediameter of the housing 192 and adapted to be contacted by ice withinthe storage ychamber 64 and to be lifted by the ice into eng-agementwith the abutment `196i on the rod 192. The continued n lifting of theplate/2h11 by ice thereunder serves then to move Ithe switch 1S@ aboutthe pivot point 184i and to dispensed from the chamber 64 or as icemelts in an amount equal to four servings of ice cubes, the plate 201)and the weight 19S fall to the position illustrated and move the switch1h11 to the closed position, the switch being held in the open positionby structure not shown until the weight 19S contacts the labutment 196on the rod 192. K

The refrigeration system for freezing the water within the cylinder 52is best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 13 of the drawings, FIG. 13 being adiagrammatic representation of the entire refrigeration system. VAs hasbeen explained above, the evaporator coil 70 is wrapped tightly aroundthe cylinder E2 and in the system the coil 70 is connected in Circuitwith a heat exchanger 210, a compressor 221i), a condenser 230 and anexpansion valve 2419, the4 refrigerant in the system being one of theFreons.

The compressor 221i serves in its usual capacity to com` pressrefrigerant gas received at its inl-et 222 in a low pressure state andto discharge the refrigerant gas through an outlet 224 under highpressure and in a heated condition. The outlet 224 is connected by meansof a coupling 226 t-o a conduit 22S which in turn is connected to theinlet connection 232 for the `condenser 23?. The heated refrigerant gasin the condenser 230 is cooled by air blown over the coils thereof (by afan, not shown) and the refrigerant in a liquiiied condition and at ahigh pressure exits through the outlet 234 which is connected by acoupling 236 to a conduit 23S connecting with one of the inlet to theheat exchanger 2111.

The details of construction of the heat exchanger 211i can be best seenfrom FIGS. 2, l1 and l2 of the drawings wherein it will be seen that theheat exchanger includes generally an outer wall 211 which is generallyelliptical in cross section (see FIG. l2) andhas Ia conduit 212extending completely therethrough, the conduit 212 being circular incross section and disposed to one side of the outer wall 211 and 4havingan external diameter slightly less than the yminor transverse. dimensionof the outer wall 211. Connection is made to the space 215 between theinner surface of the wall 211 4and the outer surface of the conduit 212by means of an inlet pipe 213 and an outlet pipe 214-, the pipes 213 and214 extending only a short distance into the outer wall 211 as can bebest seen from FIG. 2 of the drawings. In order to increase the heatexchange capacity of the heat exchanger 211i, the conduit 212 and thepipes 213V and 214 are formed of copper `and connection is made betweenthe outer wall 211 and the conduit 212 and the pipes 213 and 2114i` byattening Vthe ends of the outer wall 211 as is illustrated in FIG. 1l toclose the ends of the outer wall 211 about the conduit 212 and 4thepipes 213 and 21d, the joints so formed being closed by silver brazingor the like to form a pressure tight unitV operable well above therefrigerant pressures in the system and operable, for example, at 2.50p.s.i.

The conduit 238 is connected to the inlet pipe 213 so that the liquiiiedrefrigerant is admitted into the chamber between the outer wall 211 andabout the conduit 212 and flows from the heat exchanger 21d to theoutlet pipe 214 that is connected to the conduit 21e communicating withthe inlet connection 242 for the lexpansion valve 24d. The liquidrefrigerant is expanded `and cooled through the expansion valve 241B andVleaves through an outlet connection 241i that is connected to the lowerend of the evaporator coil 7o. The upper end of the evaporator coil 70is connected by a conduit 218 to the lower end of the conduit 212 goingthrough the heat exchanger 211i, the upper end of the conduit 212 beingconnected by a conduit 219 to the inlet 222 for the compressor 221i.

-In operation, the refrigerant system of FIG. 13 has warm gas yat lowpressure in the conduit 219 which is received through the inlet 222 forthe compressor 229 and the .compressor 222 compresses the gas whichleaves through the outlet connection 224I and enters the condenser 23@as a hot gas at high pressure. The refrigerant is cooled and liquiiiedin the condenser 230 and leaves the con-denser 23@ as .a hot liquid andis carried by the conduit 23S to the inlet 213 for the heat exchanger219. The liquid refrigerant which is hot compared to the refrigerantleaving the upper end of the evaporator coil 70 fills the space 215within the heat exchanger 211i and between the outer wall 211 and theconduit 2.12 thereby to heat the material within the conduit 212 and tobe cooled thereby. The cool-ed liquid refrigerant is fed from the heatexchanger 211i by the conduit 216 and through the expansion valve 241Bwhich admits the refrigerant under low pressure to the bottom of theevaporator coil 7d. `In accordance with the present invention, theevaporator coil 70 is operated substantially in the iooded conditionwhereby to give maximum heat transfer from the evaporator coil '711 tothe cylinder 52 and through the cylinder ena-asse 1 1" tion of the icedispensing mechanism, the circuit being from the line through the switchS and the line 26S to the timer motor 26d. Continued operation of thetimer motor 2d@ will cause the cam 275 to contact the actuator 278 whichrst operates the switch 282 to move the movable contact thereof from thestationary contact 297 to the stationary Contact 296 thereby connectingthe auger motor 5d directly to the main line 292 of the potential source299. This immediately begins operation of the auger motorrand thestirring arms 154 to 174 are operated. Shortly after the above describedoperation of the switch 282, the actuator 278 operates the switch 230 topla-ce the movable contact thereof in connection with the stationaryContact 281 so as to energize the ice door solenoid 31d to open the door15d and to dispense a portion of the ice from the storage chamber 64into the cup 31 on the platform 3i) (see FG. 2). It will be noted thatthe stirring arms are being operated by the auger due to the operationof the auger motor 56 thus to insure that ice cubes are moved from thestorage chamber 64 down the i chute 162 and into the waiting cup 31.

The above described operation of the circuit of FIG. 14 in dispensingice cubes from the storage chamber 64 will occur regardless of the stateof operation of the ice making machine Si? prior to the beginning of thedispensing cycle. More specically, if the ice level control switch 18dis closed so that the auger motor S6 is already operating at the time acoin is inserted into the control mechanism 42, the switch 282 is stillactuated so asV to bypass the switch 18@ at the proper point in thedispensing cycle so as to insure the dispensing of a portion of ice fromthe storage chamber 64 regardless of the condition of operationof theice making machine 59.

The overall operation ofthe dispensing machine 22 will now be describedin detail. The cup storage compartment 2d and the syrup storage tanks 32are filled and the operating potentials are applied to the sources 252and 299 to energize the various control circuits. A water connection hasbeen made so that a suitable level of water is present in the waterlevel control mechanism 90 so as to provide water under the properpressure through the line-94 to the connection 96 at the bottom of thecylinder 52. Because of the food use of the ice to be produced in themachine Si?, the cylinder 52 must be made of stainless steel, andbecause of the relatively poor heat conduction through stainless steel,the cylinder 52 is made as thin as possible and various of the. featuresdescribed above are provided specifically to remove mechanical Ystresses from the cylinder 52. The water rises within the cyclinder S2to the prescribed ievel siightly below .the upper level of the auger S4and since there is no ice in the storage chamber 64, the switch 180 isclosed and each of the motors 56, 369 and 394 is energized.

As the compressor 22d operates to provide refrigeran in the properphysical state to the evaporator coil 7i), the water within the cylinder52 begins to freeze upon the inner surface thereof. Operation of theauger 54 scrapes the ice from the inner walt of the cylinder 52 bypushing it upwardly therealong and there is formed an upstandingcylinder of mushy flaked ice that is fed into the collecting chamber16M. In the absence of the extruding head 60, the cylinder of iiaked icewould continue to rise until the height was too great to be supported bythe relatively small structural strength thereof.

With the extruding head du in position and held stationary with respectto the cylinder 52', the iiaked ice is forced into and substantiallyfills the collecting chamber 16) and the upwardly and inwardly directedlower surfaces 120 and 122 on the extruding head 60 aid in foncing theaked ice inwardly toward the axis of rotation of the auger S4 and awayfrom the cylinder S2 to relieve the cylinder 52 of a portion of the icepressure thereon. The auger 54 operates with substantial torque in theorder of 1,000 inch pounds and is thus able to force the aked ice intothe ice passages 11? through the extrudingv head 6) across the roundedsurfaces 124* and 126 thereby completely to till the ice passages 110and to compress and to compact the tlaked ice therein. Suflicientpressure is provided by the auger 54 and sufficient resistance to thepassage of the ice through the ice passages 11G is provided by theextruding head so that a solid rod of ice is Vformed in each of the sixice passages 11i). In order to achieve this compacting of the aked iceinto a solid rod, a high torque is required from the auger 54 and inaddition the transverse lcross sectional area provided by the passages11) must constitute from about 45% to about of the transverse crosssectional area of the collecting chamber 15M? and further the lengthof'each of the passages must be at least one and one-half times themajor transverse dimension thereof, namely, the distance between theouter endsof the walls 112 and 114 dening the passage 110.

As `a result of the above described construction and operation of themachine, a solid, rdense and compact rod of ice issues from each of theice passages 110 and if the ice cutter 62 and the stirring arms 164 to172 are removed, these rods of ice will rise for a substantial distance,for example, several inches above the upper surface of the extrudinghead 60. To form a useful product it is necessary to ybreakthe ice bymeans of the ice cutters 62 as it issues from the extruding head 69 andthe ice cutters 62 are arranged as has been described -in detail abovewith reference to FIG. 3 in a manner such that the arms 132 contact anassociated rod of compact ice first at the outer edge i 142 andprogressively force and break the ice toward the shaft of the auger 54along the line 140 to form ice cubes that are dense, dry and compact.Each of the ice cubes formed has a transverse cross section -generallylike the transverse cross section of the ice passages 110 which can bebest seen in FIG. 4 of the drawings, although occasionally the impact ofthe cutters 62 against the lrod of ice will split the rod along alongitudinally extending plane as well as along la transverse plane. Thelength of each ice cube is dependent upon the rate at which the rod ofcompact ice issues from the associated passage 110, the ice cubes beinglonger when the rate of movement of the ice rod is greater and, viceversa, the length of the ice cube being shorter when the rate ofmovement of the ice rod is less. The rate of movement of the ice rodthrough the ice passage 11) is in turn dependent upon the amount ofrefrigeration produced by the refrigeration system and more specificallyupon the rate at which aked ice is produced Y by the auger 54 in thecylinder 52.

There is shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings an idealized representation ofan ice cube of the type produced by the machine 50, the ice cube beingdesignated by the numeral 320. The ice cube 320 has been illustrated ashaving a transverse cross section identical to that of the ice passage1.10 `and having a length equal substantially to a radial dimensionthereof, the top and bottom surfaces of the ice cube 320 `beingillustrated as planes substantially parallel .to each other. The icecube making machine 50 does produce ice cubes as illustrated in FIG. 5,but other forms of ice cubes are also produced. The action or the cutterarms 132 upon a rod of ice issuing from `an ice passage 110 is actuallyin the form of an impact blow which may shatter the ice rod along planesother than those transverse to the direction of movement thereof. Morespeciicaily, the ice rod may be shattered along planes generallyparallel to the direction of movement or along planes that are at a skewangle with respect to direction of movement of the ice rod. As has beendescribed'above, the length of each ice cube in the direction ofmovement of the ice rod is also variable and is generally proportionalto the rate at which flaked ice is produced and forced through the eX-truding head 60. In all cases, however, the ice cubes produced aredense-and compact in character and whereas aked ice produced by machinesavailable heretofore may have a density or specific volume such that oneounce of the ice occupies 3.6 cubic inches the ice cube made inaccordance with the present invention has a density such` has a densityapproaching that of water. In addition the ice cubes 320 aresubstantially dry and contain little or no entrained water therein -ortherewith, the water being effectively removed by the squeezing actionto which the ilaked ice is subjected 4as it is forced through theextruding head 60. i

The ice cubes 320 thus formed are readily stored within the storagechamber 64 and are prevented from coalescing by the action of thestirring arms 164 to 174. As the level of ice increases within thestorage chamber 64, the upper surface of the stored ice eventuallycontacts the plate 200 and lifts the plate 200 to a point to open themicroswitch 180 (see FIG. 14) thus removing the operating potentialsfrom the auger motor 54, the fan motor 300 and the compressor motor 304.If thereafter four portions of ice are dispensed or if an equivalentamount of ice melts, the plate 200 is dropped so as to`close themicroswitch 180, thus to energize the motors 54, 300 and 304 to beginagain the manufacture of ice cubes.

If la coin is placed in the control mechanism 42 of the machine 20 whilethe microswitch 180 is closed and therefore while the ice cube makingmachine 50 is operating, the following sequence of operation isinitiated. The circuits within the machine 20 and diagrammaticallyillustrated at 250 in FIG. 14 are operated to place a cup 3.1 on theplatform 30 and thereafter to begin injection of water or carbonatedwater thereinto, and shortly thereafter the switch 254 controlling thesyrup pump is closed. Closure of the switch 254 then completes thecircuit to the timer motor 260 so that the cam -274 moves the holdingswitch 25S to the holding position thereof and the cam 276 operates theswitches 280 and 282 to the other positions thereof. The switch 282 isactuated a short time interval before the closure of the switch 230,this action of the switch 282 momentarily interrupting the operation ofthe auger motor 56. The closure of the switch 280 a short timethereafter energizes the ice door solenoid 310 thus to open the door 15Sin the storage compartment 64. The stirring arms `164 to 172 kick orexpel ice cubes from the storage chamber 64 and down the chute 162 intothe cup 31, this dispensing of the ice cubes being preferablyaccomplished prior to the end of the water injecting cycle. By .the timethe timer motor has completed one cycle of rotation of the cams 274 and276, the switch 254 should be open and movement of the switch 258 to.the left-hand position stops the timer motor 260 and at this time theswitches 28() and 282 have also been moved to the position illustratedin FIG. 14 of the drawings, thus terminating an ice dispensing cycle.

Should a coin be inserted into the mechanism 42 when the microswitch 180is open, i.e., when the storagechamber 64 is substantially full of icecubes and the auger motor 56 is cle-energized, the above described cycleof operation is repeated except in this case the auger motor 56 isenergized when `the movable Contact of the switch 232 is placed againstthe contact 296. Accordingly, although there is no refrigeration takingplace in the ice cube making m"- chine ft), the auger 52 is rotated sothat the stirring arms 164 .to 172 are operated' prior to the opening ofthe door 153 to insure that a proper portion of ice cubes is dispensedfrom the storage chamber 64 into the cup 31.

In yet another mode of operation, the service switch 27) can be closedwithout closing the switch 254 thus initiating an ice cube dispensingcycle, whereby only ice is dispensed into the cup 31 on the platform 30.In this mode of operation of the machine 50, ice is dispensed whetherice is being manufactured or not in a manner similar to that describedabove when the syrup pump` switch 254 is closed to initiate the ice cubedispensing cycle.

It will be seen that there has been provided an ice cube making machinewhich fulfills all of the objects and advantages set forth above andfurther that there has been provided an improved heat exchanger and animproved refrigeration system to be incorporated in the ice cube makingmachine. There likewise has been provided an improved method of makingice cubes of a type particularly suited for use in soft drinks dispensedby automatic machines available on the market today. While there hasbeen described what at present is believed to be a preferred embodimentof the invention, it is to be understood that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the true spiritand scope of the invention and it is intended to cover in the appendedclaims all such changes and moditications which fall within the truescope of the invention.

1. An ice cube making machine comprising mechanism for producing ilakedice and having a ilaked ice outlet therefor, an extruding headpositioned adjacent to said flaked ice outlet and having a plurality ofice compressing and ice shaping passages therethrough, feed mechanismfor moving liaked ice from said outlet of said flaked ice mechanism intoand through said ice passages in said extruding head to compress and tocongeal the particles of said flaked ice to form in said passages rodsof compact and coherent ice, and an ice cutter having an arm mountedadjacent to the discharge end of said ice passages and driven by saidfeed mechanism over said ice passages to block said passages as the armmoves thereacross to assist in compressing the flaked ice into rods insaid passages and for breaking the rods of compact ice into individualcompact ice cubes as the rods issue from said ice passages.

2. An ice cube making machine comprising mechanism for producing flakedice including an upstanding cylindrical freezing chamber, means forsupplying Water to said freezing chamber, means for cooling saidfreezing chamber, and an upstanding auger for delivering flaked ice tothe upper end thereof and Ato the outlet of said flaked ice mechanism,an eXtruding head positioned above and spaced from the upper end of saidauger and having an ice passage therethrough, drive mechanism foroperating said auger to force the iiaked ice from said liaked icemechanism through said ice passage in said extruding head to compressand to congeal the individual ice particles to form a rod of compact andcoherent ice, ice breaking means disposed above said extruding head andconnected to said drive mechanismfor breaking the rod of compact iceinto individual compact ice cubes as it issues from said ice passage, anice cube holding chamber mounted above said extruding head and ingeneral axial alignment with said auger and having an inlet theretocommunicating with the upper end of said ice passage to receive and tostore the ice cubes produced by said ice breaking means, stirringmechanism insaid storage chamber for agitating the ice cubes therein toprevent coalescing thereof, and a door in the side wall of said storagechamber opposite said stirring mechanism, whereby upon opening of saiddoor said stirring mechanism serves to discharge ice cubes from saidstorage chamber.

. 3. An ice cube making machine comprising mechanism for producingflaked ice including an upstanding cylindrical freezing chamber, meansfor supplying water to said freezing chamber, means for cooling saidfreezing chamber, and an upstanding auger for delivering iiaked ice tothe upper end thereof and to the outlet of said flaked ice mechanism, anextruding head positioned above andspaced from the upper end of saidauger and having anice passage therethrough, drive mechanism foroperating said auger to force the flaked ice from said flaked icemechanism through said ice passage in said extruding head to compressand to congeal the individual ice particles to form a rod of compact andcoherent ice, ice breaking means disposed above said eXtruding head andconnected to said drive mechanism for breaking the rod of compact iceinto individual compact ice cubes as it iS- sues from said ice passage,an ice cube holding chamber mounted above said eXtruding head and ingeneral axial alignment with said auger and having an inlet theretocommunicating with the upper end of said ice passage to receive and tostore the ice cubes produced by said ice breaking means, and controlmeans actuated by the level of ice in said storage chamber for operatingsaid fiaked ice mechanism :and said drive mechanism to maintain thelevel of ice cubes in Said storage chamber Within predetermined bounds.v

4. An ice cube making machine comprising an elongated freezing chamberhaving an inside freezing wall, means for supplying Water to theinterior of said freezing chamber, means for cooling at least a portionof said freezing Wall comprising a refrigerator coil and a cornpressorand a condenser and an expansion valve connected in series, a firstdrive motor for driving said compressor, an upstanding auger disposed insaid freezing chamber for scraping ice from said freezing Wall and fordelivering flaked ice to the upper end of said freezing Wall, anextruding head positioned above said auger and having an ice passagetherethrough, a second drive motor for driving said auger to force theilaked ice through said ice'passage to form a rod of compact ice, icebreaking means drivenby said auger rotating means and disposed abovesaid eXtruding head for breaking the rod of compact ice into individualice cubes as it issues from said ice passage, an ice cube holdingchamber mounted above said extruding head to receive and to store saidice cubes, stirring mechanism in said storage chamv ber driven by saidauger for agitating the ice cubes therein to prevent coalescing thereof,a door in the side Wall. of said storage chamber opposite said stirringmechanism, electrically operated actuator means for opening said door,first control means operatively associated with said chamber andresponsive to the level of ice therein, a second coin operated controlmeans, and a control circuit including a source of operating potentialand connecting said drive motors and said control means, said controlcircuit energizing said rst and second drive motors in response to alevel of ice in said chamber actuating said first control means toindicate a demand therefonsaid second control means actuating saidsecond drive motor and said electrically operated actuator means uponthe receipt of a proper coin therein to dispense a portion of ice fromsaid chamber.

5. The ice cube making machine set forth in claim 4, wherein said secondcontrol means is operated first to energize said second drive motor andthereafter to energize said electrically operated actuator means.

6, The method of making ice cubes comprising preparing iiaked ice,collecting the flaked ice in a chamber, forcing the ilaked ice from thechamber through a plurality of ice passages having a' total crosssectional area equal to from about 45% to about 75% of the crosssectional area of said chamber and having a length equal to at leastabout one and one-half times the greatest transverse dimensionk thereofto compress and to congeal the particles of aked ice into compact andcoherent rods of ice, and breaking the compact and coherent rods of iceto form individual compact and coherent ice cubes.

7. An ice cube making machine comprising mechanism for producing flakedice including an Vupstanding cylindrical freezing chamber, means forsupplying Water to said freezing chamber, means for cooling saidfreezing chamber, a aked ice collecting chamber above said freezingchamber, and anv upstanding auger in said freezing chamber fordelivering ilaked ice to the akedlice collecting chamber, an extrudinghead positioned above and spaced from the upper end of said auger abovesaid collecting chamber and having an ice compressing and ice shapingpassage therethrough, the cross sectional area of said ice passage beingsubstantially less than the cross sectional area of said flaked icecollecting chamber, drive mechanism for operating said auger to forcethe flaked ice from said flaked ice collecting chamber through said icepassage in said extruding head to compress and to congeal the individualice particles into a rod of compact and coherent ice, and an ice cutterhaving an arm thereon mounted adjacent to the dischargeend of said icepassage and driven by the said drive mechanism for breaking the rod ofcompact and coherent ice into individual compact and coherent ice cubesas the rod issues from said ice passage, said arm partially blockingsaid ice passage during' movement thereacross to assist in compressingthe flaked ice therein.

S. An ice cube making machine comprising mechanism for producing flakedice and having a flaked ice outlet therefor, an extruding headpositionedv adjacent to said iiaked ice outlet and having an icecompressingrand ice shaping passage therethrough, feed mechanism formoving flaked ice from said outlet of said ilaked ice mechanism into andthrough said ice passage in said extruding head, an ice blocking memberdriven by said feed mechanism for periodically substantially blockingthe outlet of said ice passage to compress and to congeal the particlesof aked ice therein to form in said ice passage a rod of compact andcoherent ice, and an ice cutter driven by said feed mechanism forbreaking the rod ofl compact and coherent ice into individual compactand coherent ice cubes as the rod issues from said ice passage. f

9. The ice cube making machine set forth in claim 3 wherein said iceblocking member and said ice cutter are integral. Tit). An ice cubemaking machine comprising mechanism for producing ilaked ice and havinga flaked ice outlet therefor, an extruding head positioned adjacent tosaid flaked ice outlet and having a plurality of ice compressing and iceshaping passages therethrough, feed mechanism for moving flaked ice fromsaid outlet of said flaked ice mechanism into and through said icepassages in said eXtruding head, and an ice blocking and cutting membermounted for rotation adjacent to the outlet of said ice passage tosequentially substantially block and alternately fully open the icepassages to compress and to congeal the particles of aked ice thereinsequentially to form in said ice passages rods of compact and coherentice andy thereafter sequentially to break the rods of ice intoindividual compact and coherent ice cubes as the rods issue from saidice passages.

11. An ice cube making machine comprising an upstanding cylindricalfreezing chamber having an outlet at the upper end thereof, means forsupplying Water to said freezing chamber, means for cooling saidfreezing chamber, an upstanding auger in said freezing chamber forscraping llaked ice therefrom and for delivering the aked ice to saidoutlet, an extruding head positioned above and spaced from the upper endof said auger and having a plurality of ice compressing and ice shapingpassages therethrough, drive mechanism for operating said auger to forcethe flaked ice from said outlet into and through said ice passages, andan ice blocking and cutting member mounted for rotation adjacent theoutlet of said ice passage to sequentially substantially block andalternately fully open each of the outlets of saidl ice passage tocompress and to congeal the particles of aked 1ce thereinsequentially toform in said ice passages rods of compact and coherent ice andthereafter sequentially to break the rods of ice into individual compactand coherent ice cubes as the rods issue from said ice passages.

12. The method of making compact ice cubes comprising, preparing flakedice, forcing ilaked ice simultaneously through a plurality of icepassages, sequentially substantially blocking the outlets of said icepassages to compress and to congeal'the particles of flaked ice thereininto` compact and coherent rods of ice, and thereafter sequentiallybreaking the rods of ice to form individual compact and coherent icecubes as the rods issue from said ice passages.

13. The method of making compact ice cubes comprising freezing water ona refrigerated surface to form ice, removing the ice from saidrefrigerated surface to form flaked ice, forcing the flaked ice througha plurality of ice passages, sequentially substantially blocking theoutlets of said ice passages to compress and to congeal the particles offlaked ice therein sequentially to form in said ice passages rods ofcompact and coherent ice, and thereafter sequentially breaking the rodsof ice to form individual compact and coherent ice cubes as the rodsissue from said ice passages.

14. An ice cube making mechanism comprising a cold wall refrigeratingcylinder, means for supplying to said cylinder water to be frozen onsaid wall, mechanism for scraping flaked ice from said wall, meansforming a flaked ice collecting chamber in communication with saidrefrigerating cylinder, an eXtruding head positioned adjacent to saidflaked ice collecting chamber and having an ice compressing and iceshaping passage therethrough, said mechanism including means for forcingthe flaked ice into said collecting chamber and thereby forcing theflaked ice from said collecting chamber into and through said icepassage in said extruding head to compress and to congeal the particlesof aked ice to form in said passage a rod of compact and coherent ice,and means adjacent to said extruding head and driven by said mechanismfor breaking the rod of compact and coherent ice into cornpact andcoherent ice cubes as the rod issues from said ice passage.

15. An ice cube making machine comprising mechanism for producing akedice and having a aked ice outlet therefor, an extruding head positionedadjacent to said flaked ice outlet and having a plurality of icecompressing and ice shaping passages therethrough, feed mechanism formoving aked ice from said outlet of said flaked ice mechanism into andthrough said ice passages in said extruding head, and an ice blockingmember mounted for sequential movement over the outlets of said passagesone after the other for sequentially substantially blocking andalternately fully opening the outlets of said ice passages one after theother to compress and to congeal the particles of aked ice therein toform in said ice passages rods of compact and coherent ice.

16. An ice cube making machine comprising mechanism for producing flakedice and having a flaked ice outlet therefor, an eXtruding headpositioned adjacent to said iiaked ice outlet and having a plurality ofice compressing and ice shaping passages therethrough, feed mechanismfor moving aked ice from said outlet of said aked ice mechanism into andthrough said ice passage in said extruding head, an ice blocking membermounted for sequential movement over the outlets of said passages oneafter the other for sequentially substantially blocking and alternatelyfully opening the outlets of said ice passages one after the other tocompress and to congeal the particles of flaked ice therein to form insaid ice passages rods of compact and coherent ice, and an ice cutterfor sequentially breaking the rods of ice to form individual compact andcoherent ice cubes as the rods issue from said ice passages.

17. An ice cube making machine comprising mechanism for producing flakedice and having a flaked ice outlet therefor, an extruding headpositioned adjacent to said aked ice outlet and having an icecompressing and ice shaping passage therethrough, feed mechanism formoving flaked ice from said outlet of said flaked ice mechanism into andthrough said ice passage in said extruding head, and an ice blockingmember mounted for movement over the outlet of said passage and fixedlyconnected to and driven by said feed mechanism for periodicallysubstantially blocking and alternately fully opening 18 the outlet ofsaid passage to compress and to congeal the particles of flaked icetherein to form in said ice passage a rod of compact and coherent ice.

18. An ice cube making machine comprising mechanism for producing akedice and having a iiaked ice outlet therefor, an extruding headpositioned adjacent to said flaked ice outlet and having an icecompressing and ice shaping passage therethrough, feed mechanism formoving flaked ice from said outlet of said flaked ice mechanism into andthrough said ice passage in said extruding head, drive mechanism, an iceblocking member mounted for movement over the outlet of said passage anddriven by said drive mechanism for periodically substantially blockingand alternately fully opening the outlet of said passage to compress andto congeal the particles of flaked ice therein to form in said icepassage a rod of compact and coherent ice, and an ice cutter mounted formovement over the outlet of said ice passage and driven by said drivemechanism for breaking the rod of compact and coherent ice intoindividual compact and coherent ice cubes as the rod compressed andcongealed by said blocking member in said ice passage issues from saidice passage when fully open.

19. An ice cube making machine comprising an upstanding cylindricalfreezing chamber having an outlet at the upper end thereof, means forsupplying water to said freezing chamber, means for cooling saidfreezing chamber, an upstanding auger in said freezing chamber forscraping aked ice therefrom and for delivering the flaked ice to saidoutlet, an extruding head positioned above and spaced from the upper endof said auger and having a plurality of ice compressing and ice shapingpassages therethrough, drive mechanism for operating said auger to forcethe flaked ice from said outlet into and through said ice passages, anice blocking member mounted for movement adjacent to the outlets of saidice passages for sequentially substantially blocking and alternatelyfully opening the outletsl of said ice passage to compress and tocongeal the particles of aked ice therein to form in said ice passagesrods of compact and coherent ice, means for moving said ice blockingmember, and an ice holding chamber mounted above said extruding head andin general axial alignment with said auger and having an inlet theretocommunicating with the upper ends of said ice passages.

20. The method of making compact ice cubes comprising, continuouslypreparing iiaked ice, continuously forcing flaked ice simultaneouslythrough a plurality of ice passages, sequentially substantially blockingthe outlets of said ice passages one after the other to compress and tocongeal the particles of aked ice therein into compact and coherent rodsof ice, and forcing the rods of ice from said ice passages.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 530,526 12/ 94Holden. 1,020,759 3/ 12 Holden 62-354 1,221,054 4/ 17 Hyatt 62-320 X1,881,171 10/32 Cooley. 1,976,204 10/ 34 Voorhees et al 62-58 X2,237,189 4/41 McCormack 222-245 2,340,721 2/44 Whitney 62-137 2,397,3473/46 Gruner. 2,401,236 5/ 46 Fielitz 18-12 2,698,162 12/54 Riesgo165-154 2,698,739 1/55 Haugen 165-154 X 2,699,045 1/55 Bailey 62-3202,724,949 11/55 Kattis 62-344 2,779,165 1/ 57 Pichler 62-320 2,825,2093/58 Nelson 62-354 2,833,126 5/58 Muy 62-71 2,888,252 5/59 Heathman62-513 (Other references on following page) 19 UNITED STATES PATENTS KLees 62-71 Mannhardt 222-2 Wright 62137 Keller 62-320 Eschenburg 62-68Boetteiger 62-513 Clotsel 62-5 13 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.EDWARD J. MTCHAEL, MEYER PERLIN, Examiners.

8. AN ICE CUBE MAKING MACHINE COMPRISING MECHANISM FOR PRODUCING FLAKEDICE AND HAVING A FLAKED ICE OUTLET THEREFOR, AN EXTRUDING HEADPOSITIONED ADJACENT TO SAID FLAKED ICE OUTLET AND HAVING AN ICECOMPRESSING AND ICE SHAPING PASSAGE THERETHROUGH, FEED MECHANISM FORMOVING FLAKED ICE FROM SAID OUTLET OF SAID FLAKED ICE MECHANISM INTO ANDTHROUGH SAID ICE PASSAGE IN SAID EXTRUDING HEAD, AN ICE BLOCKING MEMBERDRIVEN BY SAID FEED MECHANISM FOR PERIODICALLY SUBSTANTIALLY BLOCKINGTHE OUTLET OF SAID ICE PASSAGE TO COMPRESS AND TO CON-